3 things MI need to do right to beat GT in IPL 2025 clash in Ahmedabad ft. Hardik Pandya
In search of their maiden win at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, the Gujarat Titans (GT) and the Mumbai Indians (MI) will go head-to-head at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, on Saturday, March 29. Both franchises began their campaigns with subpar performances.
MI had an off day against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), losing by four wickets. GT, meanwhile, leaked 243 runs against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) and couldn't close out the run-chase, losing by 11 runs.
Now, we await a high-intensity battle at the world's largest cricket stadium. Hardik Pandya will be in focus. Last year, he faced jeers from Ahmedabad fans after he moved from GT to MI. Now, he's much more loved by fans after playing a huge part in India's T20 World Cup 2024 and ICC Champions Trophy 2025 wins.
Pandya had to miss the previous MI game due to an over-rate offense from last season. On that note, let us look at the three vital things that the Mumbai Indians need to do right to beat GT on Saturday.
3 things MI need to do right to beat GT in IPL 2025 clash in Ahmedabad
#3 Get team combination spot on vs GT
![Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya during practice [Getty Images]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/03/abed8-17432310848959-1920.jpg?w=500)
Due to suspension over the slow over-rate in MI's last match of IPL 2024, Hardik Pandya had to miss out on the previous game against CSK. Now, the Mumbai captain walks into the playing XI.
With Jasprit Bumrah also out with an injury, MI gave debuts to three players in Chennai – Satyanarayana Raju, Robin Minz, and Vignesh Puthur. Only one of them did emphatically, with Vignesh picking up an impressive 3/32 in what was his maiden professional T20 game.
Pandya should slot in Robin Minz, as Ryan Rickelton would be the specialist keeper in the XI. Having Pandya in Minz's place will leave out Raju, who's a capable pacer. However, MI have Ashwani Kumar on the bench as well. He's a genuine left-arm pacer who has various variations up his sleeve.
Having Pandya would not only strengthen the batting but would also allow MI to use four pace-bowling options. As for the spinners, MI have Mitchell Santner, Vignesh, and part-time off-spinner Will Jacks.
#2 Chahar & Boult should stick to tight lines vs Gill & company
The Narendra Modi Stadium offers a trustworthy bounce to hit for the batters. And batters of Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan's calibre can really wreak havoc. In their previous game against PBKS, Gill and Sudharsan had their tails up, smashing the likes of Arshdeep Singh and Marco Jansen for boundaries.
However, the two left-arm pacers erred in their lines. They bowled outside the off stump and gave enough room. That is where both Deepak Chahar and Trent Boult should focus.
The new MI bowling duo should stick to bowling wicket-to-wicket lines and not offer width for Gill and others to slash hard. This would not only frustrate the GT top order but would create opportunities to get early wickets.
The same formula applies to Pandya as well, who likes to bowl in the powerplay. MI could benefit from having their captain, who has played a couple of years at the venue.
#1 Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton should negate Siraj-Rabada threat
It came as a bit of a surprise when Shubman Gill used three overs of Kagiso Rabada within the powerplay against PBKS. But it gave away their plan of taking early wickets.
Don't be surprised if Rabada bowls at full tilt in the powerplay again in an attempt to rock MI early. This is the threat that the MI openers, especially Rohit Sharma, should be wary of.
The Hitman has an extremely poor record against the South African pacer. Across formats, Rabada has got Rohit out 16 times.
Facing the new ball threat against Mohammed Siraj and Rabada could be tricky for Rohit and Rickelton, but if they see out the powerplay without losing any wickets, this MI batting can explode and operate at sixth gear till the last ball of the innings. With Suryakumar Yadav, Will Jacks, Naman Dhir, and Pandya in the middle order, MI might just bat out GT.